T.O. externalizes blame, again

Posted by Mike Florio on February 10, 2016, 12:50 PM EDT

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For the past few years, receiver Terrell Owens has attributed negative stories and attitude about him to a bias against him in the media. When confronted with concrete examples of misbehavior that helped shape his reputation, Owens always has an excuse unrelated to the notion that he engaged in misbehavior.

That attitude has been on display during a Wednesday ESPN car wash with fellow former receiver Chad Johnson. The appearance comes days after Owens was snubbed by the Hall of Fame, with signs pointing to Owens being overlooked due to his interpersonal skills, or lack thereof.

Before going any farther, I firmly believe that Owens should have made it in on the first ballot, and that he deserved the spot over Marvin Harrison. I also believe that, for a guy who claims to not care about not getting in, he seems to be a lot more bothered about the situation than someone who couldn’t care less should be.

Referring to the voters as “pencil pushers,” Owens expressed disdain for a process that eventually will get him in the Hall of Fame after knocking on the door once or twice or three times. (If he keeps openly complaining about the process and the voters, bet the over.)

Regardless, he should have gotten in. Yes, he was a pain in the butt. Yes, there was an element at times of malice and chronic discontent. But, yes, he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Rice, Owens, Moss or Rice, Moss, Owens are the top three wideouts in NFL history.

Whatever the stated reason for letting Harrison get in before Owens, the notion of disruption becomes a convenient excuse for the de facto waiting list. And whatever Owens says about whatever it is that he did or didn’t do, it’s clear that he’s getting in — it’s just a question of when.

Meanwhile, both Owens and Johnson repeatedly lamented the absence of social media during their careers, explaining that if they had access to Twitter while playing they could have shaped the narrative and explained themselves without the filter of the media.

But here’s the thing. Owens and Johnson presume that they would have used social media in a way that would have resulted in the fans automatically seeing their side of things and in turn viewing them more favorably. The truth more likely is that they would have used social media in a way that would have made a pair of polarizing players even more polarizing, simultaneously preaching to the choir while further alienating their enemies.

Despite Owens’ effort (intentionally or not) to alienate the voters, Owens eventually will get in to the Hall of Fame. And despite his incessant, tiring “it’s not me, it’s you” routine, I still think he already should be on track for a bronze bust, a gold jacket, and a Ring of Excellence.

Wow!! Your headline totally turned me off, and I almost didn’t read the whole article. I do not like TO, but I do believe that he is one of the most accomplished receivers to ever play the game. He did not benefit from offenses with world class QB’s. He was a pain in the butt, but was stellar at his job. He should get into the hall, as should Moss. The Voters ought to get off of their high horses…

Look…I get that TO was an incredible talent at the position, but not only did he make some of his teams better, he made some of his teams worse. That’s why people have a problem with him. You saw him tear teams apart.

He may get in, but that ain’t being a Hall of Famer….unless I missed the new mindset that we’re electing on how they stack up on Madden.

TO deserved to go in first ballot, he’s at the top of the list for every statistical category for a WR. Whether or not he’s a jerk shouldn’t matter, because some of the mainstream fans biggest heroes are closet jerks and you don’t even know it. What’s the worst this guy ever did, crunches in his front lawn, or his whining on the sidelines? Big deal!! Like the other guy said, Harrison was involved in a shooting, but because he had Manning as his QB and was soft spoken for a black man, he gets in because he’s “classier”?

The notion that Owens should have gotten in on the first ballot is ridiculous. This guy piled up a lot of stats, but he never won anything. Never made his teams better. Arguably made his teams worse with his incessant me-first attitude. There are plenty of guys in the HOF because they were championship-type players on championship-type teams, which is the true mark of greatness (see Pittsburgh Steelers, circa 1970’s). Just racking up a bunch of receptions doesn’t make you a shoo-in, especially when your bad attitude and antics at least partially detract from your personal accomplishments on the field. Owens will have to wait, and he deserves to wait a good long time if he gets in at all.

Lawrence Taylor was a grade A u know the rest but he is in the Hall, Marvin went buck wild at his car wash, yeah i know it was never proven, but we all know he did it. T.O should have been in, and Tony Dungy, come on.

It sickens me that the media gets to decide who gets in. The media who has most likely never played football past high school (if at all) gets to decide the HOF based on petty disagreements and butthurt feelings in their dealings with certain playes.

I watched the whole T.O. Skip interview. Skip went straight down the line and T.O. had a plausible explanation for each instance. Despite that, Skip would have none of it. These media types made up their mind about T.O. years ago.

T.O. is top 3 WR in history. He’ll get in eventually but the fact he has to wait is plain foolishness. The media sucks. Ted Williams once won the Triple Crown in baseball but lost the MVP to Dimaggio because of the media.

Harrison should have gotten in last year over Tim Brown and Andre Reed the year before, but for whatever reason the voters aren’t pitting one guy against another, just looking at who’s turn it is.

TO may have had great numbers, but there is no doubt he hurt his teams on several occasions. That did and should be looked at when deciding where he ranks. Marvin always, 100% of the time, made his team better. Can we say the same about TO?

TO did play in a Super Bowl, in which he was undoubtedly the best player on the field that day & he was injured. So if it goes by championships I guess Emmanuel Sanders should go in, & Brandon LaFell, & Doug Baldwin, & Torrey Smith, etc

and some think piling up stats shouldn’t matter? We’re talking about the NFL here, you end up at the top of ALL TIME LISTS, you were doing something right! Marvin Harrison is a shining example of a guy who just piled up stats cuz his QB was Peyton Manning, when did that guy every single handedly take over a game, he’s whole career was based on timing created by his QB

“Meanwhile, both Owens and Johnson repeatedly lamented the absence of social media during their careers, explaining that if they had access to Twitter while playing they could have shaped the narrative and explained themselves without the filter of the media.”

Yet another example of people who do not understand that nothing good happens at 2AM on Twitter.

Hall of Fame is not a popular contest regarding who is most-liked as a teammate etc. It is about production on the field. No second-guessing that OchoUno (T.O.) should have made this year’s enshrinement, above Marvin Harrison. OchoUno is Top 3 in TDs and in Yards. Facts are facts. To deny him entry just because he stirred the locker room makes Hall of Fame consideration more like a Beauty Pageant than a place to honor the very best skill position players. Those Hall of Fame voters who denied OchoUno need to go suck on a lemon — and then an egg.

beefturkey says:
Feb 10, 2016 1:18 PM
The notion that Owens should have gotten in on the first ballot is ridiculous. This guy piled up a lot of stats, but he never won anything. Never made his teams better. Arguably made his teams worse with his incessant me-first attitude. There are plenty of guys in the HOF because they were championship-type players on championship-type teams, which is the true mark of greatness (see Pittsburgh Steelers, circa 1970’s). Just racking up a bunch of receptions doesn’t make you a shoo-in, especially when your bad attitude and antics at least partially detract from your personal accomplishments on the field. Owens will have to wait, and he deserves to wait a good long time if he gets in at all.

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What a load of crap. Owens was the best player on the team the year the Pats beat the Eagles in the SB. He played his heart out. If it were not for Donovan McNabb puking in the huddle instead of running the offense, the Eagles may even have won the game.

of the 46 members of the selection committee, 32 are current media members of a geographic area with an NFL franchise. by denying TO they are sending a message to current NFL players to play nice with them or else there could be repercussions down the road. That is what this is about. its a carrot on a stick to current NFL players.

Meanwhile, both Owens and Johnson repeatedly lamented the absence of social media during their careers, explaining that if they had access to Twitter while playing they could have shaped the narrative and explained themselves without the filter of the media.
Say what?
JT the Brick and Tom Looney frequently commented on their overnight radio show on Fox on Ocho Cinco’s Twitter activity. He’s actually notable for being among the first to do that, and on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, both Owens and Johnson repeatedly lamented the absence of social media during their careers, explaining that if they had access to Twitter while playing they could have shaped the narrative and explained themselves without the filter of the media.

LOL, there’s a reason why lawyers and PR teams write those “apologies” for their incoherent clients. It’s to prevent them from making things worse ala Cam Newton.

TO did play in a Super Bowl, in which he was undoubtedly the best player on the field that day

Hmm I think a certain 3 time SB MVP would beg to differ. Best on the Eagles? For sure, and that injury definitely hampered him. But, let’s not pretend there weren’t 4-5 Hall of Famers better than Me-O on that 2004 Patriots team.

His football numbers speak for themselves but there is no denying that his behavior effected the teams he played for and was very distracting. To the best of my knowledge there is no guidelines saying that behavior is not a disqualifying factor when a member makes his/her vote…

surprised by the lack of love for marvin harrison. seems like everyone is assuming that he was a product of peyton manning.

charles woodson (who i think is the best all around corner i’ve seen) and who i saw shut down TO and many other top receivers one on one, thinks marvin harrison is the best receiver he ever played against.

If T.O. made teams worse, an absurdity since stats are based on exactly those things done on the field which helps a team win, then which of these teams got better after he left with the exception of Cincy when he was well up in age.? Certainly not San Francisco, certainly not Philly, certainly not Dallas. And how many of the quarterbacks he played under made the Pro Bowl when he was not on their team? Young might be the exception. Neither Garcia, Donovan, or Romo were consistent Pro Bowlers except when T.O. was on their team.

This article is BS. I listened to First Take on the way to work and heard the entire conversation. Skip Bayless tried (feebily) to do a point by point assessment of TO’s issues. He used unnamed sources or no sources at all for each one. For each one TO provided the untold backstory and named specific names and quotes that supported nearly everything he said. Once again, the media trying to get people to believe their version because most people are too lazy to go get the information for themselves….

The fact is that T.O. has no market to vote for him and he has no one to blame but himself. He played the hired gun, which is fine if you endear yourself to the fans, but he always left with the fans and the market saying good riddance. Voters and teams are going to push for “their guys” to get in. T.O. is no ones guy. He was just some diva they they dated to get some attention and cut bait when the maintenance was to high. Truth is for all of T.O.s talent no one in the NFL respects him cause he never showed respect for teams he played for.

NYCTourGuy (Bucs fan) says:
Feb 10, 2016 2:01 PM
T. O. should pick McNabb to be his presenter.
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And then as the presentations begin, have a surprise guest Jeff Garcia lightly push McNabb aside, waddle up to the microphone and say “Quack”.

First, does anyone realize, I think I am correct, that this is the 3rd year Harrison was eligible? In other words, it took him 3 tries. If so, it’s not like he ran roughshod over T.O. in this election. That’s just the way the process works. Should Owens have been elected to the HOF this year? I think so, but, like Harrison, he can afford to wait.

Does T.O. deserve to be in the Hall? Maybe. But ahead of Marvin? Heck no. Why Marvin had to wait is beyond me. His stats and his value to the team and to the development of Peyton Manning all screamed for him to get in right away. To keep him out to let in T.O. (or any other WR or heck any other player) would have been an injustice. Ain’t going to hurt T.O. to wait.